Philadelphia’s biggest move this offseason was re-signing Kyle Schwarber to a five-year, $150 million contract. Beyond that, the team has added Adolis Garcia to the outfield mix on a one-year contract. They also retooled the bullpen by trading away Matt Strahmacquire Kyle Backhusand signing Brad Keller And Zach Pop. Last month it was reported that the club is looking for a right-side platoon bat and some rotation depth, as well as a reunion with JT Realmuto. In contrast, the infield hasn’t been mentioned as a target for an upgrade, so it’s possible the Phillies are just doing due diligence on Bichette.
The club has Trea Turner entrenched at shortstop. The 32-year-old continues to perform at a high level. In 2025, he hit .304/.355/.457 in 141 games with a 125 wRC+, which was sixth-best among qualified shortstops. He also lowered his strikeout rate to just 16.7% and hit 15 home runs while stealing 36 bases. Crucially, after two seasons of below-average defense, Turner was worth two defensive runs saved and 16 outs above average in 2025, the latter ranking fourth among qualified shortstops. That’s in stark contrast to Bichette, who was worth -12 DRS and -13 OAA for the Blue Jays this year.
Turner’s presence makes the Phillies less likely for Bichette at shortstop. With Schwarber taking the DH slot, Bichette would have to play second or third base if he were to sign. The cornerstone is the most likely outcome, with Bichette telling interested teams he is willing to play there. He notably played five games at second base during the World Series, with Andres Gimenez cover shortstop. Before that, Bichette had spent just 262 1/3 innings at the cornerstone of his career, all in the minor leagues.
Statcast has an unfavorable view of Bichette’s arm strength (36th percentile) and sprint speed (21st percentile). A move to second base would allow him to make shorter throws and limit his exposure to batted balls from right-handed batters, which he has struggled with in the past. Meanwhile, the Phillies’ incumbent second baseman is Bryson Stott. His batting line of .257/.328/.391 in 2025 was a league-average wRC+. On defense, he was considered average (0 DRS) to positive (7 OAA). Overall, he was worth 3.1 fWAR this year, which was sixth-best among qualified second basemen.
Signing Bichette to play second could force Stott to the hot corner, where he has played just 15 big league innings. That could still be a good defensive alignment between the two. While Bichette struggles against batted balls from right-handed hitters, Stott was worth the same amount of OAA against right-handed and left-handed hitters in 2025. Placing him at third base to accommodate Bichette wouldn’t be a perfect fit considering Stott’s below-average arm strength. Still, his better performance against batted balls from right-handers, as well as his plus range and sprint speed, could help him adapt to the hot curve better than Bichette.
A lineup of Stott in third, Turner close behind and Bichette in second would set off Alec Bohm without a permanent job. Bohm hit .287/.331/.409 with a 105 wRC+ in 120 games as the Phillies’ primary third baseman this year. That’s certainly not terrible, but it was a drop from his 113 wRC+ in 2024. He also regressed on defense, going from 4 OAA in 2024 to -2 OAA this year. Bohm is entering his final year of team control and is expected to make a salary of $10.3 million in arbitration, making him a potential trade candidate. In fact, in October, 69.72% of MLBTR readers believed the Phillies would trade him.
It remains to be seen if the Phillies are seriously interested in Bichette or are just doing their due diligence. That said, if they were to sign him and trade Bohm, they would improve their offense and possibly their infield defense. We at MLBTR ranked Bichette at No. 2 on our Top 50 Free Agents list, projecting an eight-year, $208 million deal. Adding that $26 million annual salary and subtracting Bohms’ $10.3 million would put the team’s payroll in 2026 at just under $281 million, according to Grid source. That would leave about $10 million for a reunion with Realmuto and other additions, assuming the team matches its $291 million payroll in 2025.
Photo courtesy of Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images
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